If it is already difficult to differentiate a mini or micro SIM card, not to mention the virtual eSIM which is making a timid arrival. Soon we will also find the iSIM in new smartphones.
Who develops iSIM? And what is it?
Behind the iSIM, there are large telecommunications groups, but also international companies such as Vodafone, Qualcomm and Thales. This new format meets the specifications of the GSMA, the association responsible for setting up and promoting mobile telephony in the world.
iSIM (Integrated SIM) is an embedded SIM, a new eSIM form factor – built as a Trusted Zone (or TRE, i.e. Tamper Resistant Element) – in the SSoC, (that is i.e. System on Chip).
What are the advantages compared to the eSIM?
The eSIM has made a timid breakthrough in France. First, even if the format is supported by Apple, Google or Samsung, the support of mobile operators depends on a lot of parameters. Which means that just because you have an eSIM compatible smartphone doesn’t mean you can have an eSIM on your mobile plan. Despite everything, it is estimated that the eSIM will continue to develop. However, the iSIM goes further in terms of integration.
Being integrated directly into the chip of the connected device, the SoC (Snapdragon, Exynos, etc.), the iSIM will therefore also be able to exploit the advanced capacities of the CPU or NPU, such as its calculation capacity, its speed, its energy consumption… this allows better compatibility, lower energy consumption, but above all reinforced material security. Another benefit is that it will free up space on the motherboard for new features and a more compact device design.
In addition, the iSIM has the opportunity to be supported much more widely, because this format is standardized and recognized by industrial organizations (GSMA, 3GPP, Trusted Connectivity Alliance, ETSI, Eurosmart, etc.). Also note that the iSIM is subject to the same interoperability tests as the eSIM, this will speed up its support. More precisely, the iSIM is validated with the eSIM infrastructure of the mobile network operators (profiles, eSIM management platforms). The idea for us is to be able to change operator without having to wait for a physical SIM to be received.
When will we be able to benefit from it?
Tests have already been carried out on a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G. The particularity of this device is that its Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G processor incorporates an SPU (Secure Processing Unit) which makes it possible to switch to iSIM. This SPU integrates the Thales iSIM operating system, one of the companies in charge of developing this new format.
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As of today, we still don’t know when we’ll see the first iSIM-enabled devices. But given the advantages it offers and the ease of its implementation in the infrastructure that mobile operators already have, it is not excluded that we will hear about iSIM very quickly.
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